CLK has beefed up its Memphis portfolio of late, including last year’s $49.2 million purchase of the 972-unit Country Squire Apartments in Cordova.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Hard Rock, Nike File Building Permits

Hard Rock Café International has filed a $2.5 million building permit application with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement for its coming renovation of the Lansky building at 126 Beale St.

The restaurant chain featuring music memorabilia and live performances announced earlier this year its plans to move to the Lansky building from its current location at Beale and Hernando Street in the Beale Street entertainment district. The new location is on the other side of Second Street from the current western border of the district.

Jack Daniel's Opposes Changing Whiskey Law

If it isn't fermented in Tennessee from mash of at least 51 percent corn, aged in new charred oak barrels, filtered through maple charcoal and bottled at a minimum of 80 proof, it isn't Tennessee whiskey. So says a year-old law that resembles almost to the letter the process used to make Jack Daniel's, the world's best-known Tennessee whiskey.

Now state lawmakers are considering dialing back some of those requirements that they say make it too difficult for craft distilleries to market their spirits as Tennessee whiskey, a distinctive and popular draw in the booming American liquor business.

But the people behind Jack Daniel's see the hand of a bigger competitor at work — Diageo PLC, the British conglomerate that owns George Dickel, another Tennessee whiskey made about 15 miles up the road.

"It's really more to weaken a title on a label that we've worked very hard for," said Jeff Arnett, the master distiller at the Jack Daniel's distillery in Lynchburg, Tenn. "As a state, I don't think Tennessee should be bashful about being protective of Tennessee whiskey over say bourbon or scotch or any of the other products that we compete with."

Republican state Rep. Bill Sanderson emphasized that his bill wouldn't do away with last year's law enacted largely on the behest of Jack Daniel's corporate parent, Louisville, Ky.,-based Brown-Forman Corp. The principal change would be to allow Tennessee whiskey makers to reuse barrels, which he said would present considerable savings over new ones that can cost $600 each.

"There are a lot of ways to make high-quality whiskey, even if it's not necessarily the way Jack Daniel's does it," Sanderson said. "What gives them the right to call theirs Tennessee whiskey, and not others?"

– The Associated Press

Tennessee Honored for Reforestation

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has received the Arbor Day Foundation's 2014 Forest Lands Leadership Award.

The award is given annually to an individual or organization that provides leadership in advancing sustainable forestry on public land.

The TWRA was recognized this year for its bottomland hardwood forest restoration program in West Tennessee. Through that program, approximately 3 million trees have been planted on 6,800 acres of former row crop land.

As the trees and shrubs grow into forests, they will provide habitat and mast in an area where it is critically needed. TWRA's goal is to connect the fragmented forests of West Tennessee into an uninterrupted travel corridor through which wildlife can freely fly, walk and crawl.

– The Associated Press

Unemployment Rates Fall in 43 States

Unemployment rates fell in 43 U.S. states in January as more Americans began looking for work and most quickly found jobs.

The Labor Department said Monday that the unemployment rate rose in just one state – Iowa – where the rate increased to 4.3 percent from 4.2 percent. Still, that's far below the national rate of 6.6 percent that month. Rates were unchanged in six states.

Tennessee’s unemployment rate stood at 7.2 percent in January, down from 8.1 percent a year ago and down from 7.7 percent in December.

The data demonstrates that the steady decline in the unemployment rate nationwide has been broad-based, occurring throughout much of the country. The overall U.S. unemployment rate has fallen 1 percentage point in the past 12 months.

Twenty-three states reported more hiring in January, while 27 said that the number of jobs fell. Harsh winter weather weighed on hiring nationwide, with employers adding just 129,000 jobs in January. That's below the average monthly gain of about 180,000 in the previous two years.

– The Associated Press

US Factory Output Rebounds in February

U.S. factory output rebounded strongly in February after harsh winter storms caused a steep drop-off in production in January. Manufacturers produced more autos, home electronics and chemicals.

The Federal Reserve said Monday that factory production surged 0.8 percent, nearly reversing a 0.9 percent plunge in January that was due mainly to weather. February's gain was the largest in six months.

The figures suggest that factories are poised to boost output and drive more economic growth as the weather improves.

"Assuming that the weather returns to seasonal norms, output will rise rapidly in the coming months," Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients.

Overall industrial production, which includes manufacturing, mining and utilities, rose 0.6 percent in February, the biggest increase since September. Industrial production had fallen 0.2 percent in January.